Electronic innovator Vitalic is doing a one of special show in Notthingham on March 20th – his live shows are retina-scorching, brain-meltingly brilliant. He is now at level that he can be compared to some of the greatest electronic live performers like; Daft Punk, The Chemical Brothers and Kraftwerk.

His debut full-length “Ok Cowboy” made waves back in 2005 with his blend of smarter-than-average synths and weirder-than-average samples.

Vitalic returned on 2009 with his amazing Flashmob full-length; confirming what many had already thought that Vitalic is a innovator and a true pioneer.

Flashmob was loaded with blisteringly compressed production, brutal beats and madly addictive tunes (we should know the album has been in our CD changer for 6 months).

The Frenchman’s multilayered productions have seen him playing at Matter and he will be headlining Snowbombing in a few weeks.

Fade have managed to secured a Vitalic for a live show at Notthingham’s biggest club Gatecrasher, and you can win a pair of tickets to go and see one of the best live show of this decade.

If you are not familiar with Vitalic – watch this video and get educated.

To win a pair of tickets Email your name to our email address and we will pick a winner at random.

harderbloggerfaster@hotmail.com

Mark Eteson will be playing at the first Peach of 2010 – he spins all forms of house, tech and trance and has mixed several Gatecrasher compilations in the past.

He will playing alongside Mr Sam who fuses prog, house and trance (and has played alongside alongside DJ legends such as Carl Cox, Nalin & Kane, Robert Miles, Luke Slater and Misstress Barbara).

We took sometime time to speak to Mark about the state of trance music and what he has planned for the next year.

HBF: Describe your sound to someone who doesn’t know…

I prefer not to be pigeon-holed as a trance DJ because I do play the odd progressive track, some house, some techno…it all depends on the vibe of the night and how clued-up the crowd are. So to someone who doesn’t know I would say I play energetic, eclectic, electronic music.

HBF: What music did you grow up around and does it still influence you?

My father is a musician himself so I grew up around absolutely everything from Steely Dan, to Bill Joel all the way through to the first signs of dance music when I was a youngster in school. I still make a point of listening to a wide cross-section of music nowadays as well and I find I draw a lot more influence from other music than I do from dance music as a whole

HBF: What makes a good DJ great?

The difference between them is their ability to turn around a bad crowd.  Any DJ can play to a crowd who are loving it, but when you’re faced with a difficult crowd, and you can turn their night around or make them experience something they weren’t expecting, than that would make you great…

HBF: Why do you think trance gets such a bad name?

Does it get a bad name?!  As far as I’m concerned, trance does pretty well for itself, the top 100 DJs poll is consistently a majority of trance acts, so I think that proves the strength of it as a genre.  Yes it might not be as glitz and glam as house, or as cool as progressive; but overall – I’m not afraid to say I love it!

HBF: What are your top three current tunes?

Mark Eteson & Ben Nicky – Altitude

Alex M.O.R.P.H. – Break The Light (Chapter XJ Remix)

DI-RECT – Times Are Changing (Bart Claessen Remix)

HBF: How long do you spend looking for new music each week and where?

I don’t really spend an awful lot of time searching for new music as a lot of it gets promo’d to me and I just throw it all in a specific folder until I come round to my tune listening day, which incidentally is today!

HBF: You’ve played all over the world – how do crowds differ?

Crowds come in many shapes and sizes, some are more excitable than others, some are there for a piss-up and some are there to get lost in the music. It still amazes me how far-reaching this business is. I can make a tune one week and people in China and Australia can know about it the week after. I think that is incredible!

HBF: What can people expect from you at the Fridge?

An energetic and full-on mix, with plenty to smile about!

HBF: What else are you working on in 2010?

This weekend in fact I’m working on a vocal track with Aruna from the US, it’s going to trial out a new style for me, around 130 bpm and edging on a bit more commercial.  Not cheese, but definitely a bit more accessible to people who haven’t heard trance/progressive before!  Aside from that I’ll be doing the usual rounds with plenty of shows, festivals like Global etc and a big step up in the production in the next 12 months…